Villaraigosa Fails Up to Harvard

Harvard’s Institute of Politics has announced that former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will serve as a visiting fellow. This marks an impressive academic leap for the former mayor who is perhaps most famous for his grasp of parliamentary procedure.

Villaraigosa had a troubled history as mayor of Los Angeles. He was accused of improper political donations twice in 2011 and forced to pay over $40,000 in fines after failing to disclose free tickets to sporting and entertainment events he received in one case. The Los Angeles Times reported that then-Mayor Villaraigosa had received illegal campaign contributions during his 2009 reelection campaign in another instance. The donor, real estate developer Alexander Hugh, was fined nearly $184,000 by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.

Additionally, Villaraigosa was found to have used $489,000 in federal taxpayer stimulus funds that were intended to spur job creation to refurbish the official mayoral yacht.

While he was mayor, Villaraigosa was known for his personal problems. It became widely known that the mayor partied with troubled celebrities. Villaraigosa was also known to have flings with local journalists. One such occasion led to divorce from his wife.